No one was injured Tuesday morning when a section of brick wall of the Penn State Dickinson School of Law’s Trickett Hall collapsed to the ground.

The 90-year-old structure is being restored as part of a $50 million renovation and expansion project of the campus at South and College streets, Carlisle.

School Dean Philip McConnaughay said the cause of the wall collapse is unknown, but structural engineers are assessing the damage prior to preparing a plan on how to restore it.

He added, since the collapse, workers have cleared the debris and shored up the breach with additional steel. Original bricks have been salvaged.

Workers were at the construction site when the collapse took place, McConnaughay said. Based on what he heard, there was prior warning and workers were told to clear the area.

The dean added the project budget includes some contingency funds set aside for unexpected work. “With a project of this scale, this kind of thing can happen with the restoration of an older building.

“I’m hoping for no significant impact on the scope and timing of the project,” McConnaughay said.

The $50 million project to renovate and expand Trickett Hall is set for completion by December 2009.

Planned in the area between Trickett Hall and the 1985 addition, the new Lewis Katz Hall will house three large classrooms, a courtyard, a commons area and a 200-seat courtroom/auditorium.

Trickett Hall will be renovated to house the H. Laddie Montague Jr. Law Library and a legislative hearing room. Dickinson School of Law is currently housed in the former Advantica building on the Carlisle Pike in Middlesex Township.

Meanwhile, construction continues on the University Park campus of Dickinson School of Law, which should be completed by this December.